The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing printed products. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus having a conveying device with pocket-like receiving parts for processing printed products.
An apparatus of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,438 and the corresponding EP-A-0453343. This apparatus has a conveying device with a plurality of receiving parts that are arranged in a drum-like manner around a common horizontal rotary axis and have a radially inner base and outer opening. Each receiving part is assigned a carriage that can be moved in the direction of the rotary axis, and is mounted on a wall that bounds the receiving part. The wall runs parallel to the rotary axis and forms the base of the receiving part. Arranged on the carriage at a distance (one behind the other, in the direction of the rotary axis) are clamps which interact with a wall element of the carriage. Those clamps can be changed over together, by a control device, from a closed position, into an open position, and back again. The carriages are also connected to a drive in order to be moved, during a rotation of the receiving parts around the rotary axis, by one working stroke in the longitudinal direction of the receiving parts and by one return stroke in the opposite direction.
This apparatus also has feeders that are arranged one behind the other (in the direction of the rotary axis of the conveying device) and are used to introduce one printed product into each receiving part running past beneath them. The printed products come to rest on the base by way of their leading edge, relative to the introduction direction. The printed products are then retained by the clamps being closed and, during a rotation of the receiving part around the rotary axis, are transported by a working stroke to the next feeder and ultimately to a remover. At each feeder, with the exception of the last feeder (with respect to the transporting direction) a further printed product is added and, in the manner of collation, is arranged congruently with printed products that are already present in the receiving part. The last feeder may be used to position a folded printed product, in a straddling manner, on a wall that bounds the receiving part and over the collated printed product.
In this known apparatus, the design of the receiving parts with the walls and the carriages, guided thereon, and with the clamps, involves a high degree of outlay and takes up a considerable amount of space.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to develop an apparatus of the generic type such that the construction of the receiving parts is simplified and the space requirement of the conveying device is thus reduced. Alternatively, in the event that the amount of space is the same, a larger number of receiving parts is permitted by the present invention. For instance, in the apparatus of the present invention, the transporting device is separate from the conveying device and is arranged outside the receiving parts. This arrangement permits a simple and space-saving design of the conveying device and free access to the transporting device.